Archaeologists and autobiography: (self-)fashioning in the public autobiographical writings of Austen Henry Layard (1817 - 1894), William Flinders Petrie (1853 - 1942), and Mortimer Wheeler (1890 - 1976)
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2016-09-09
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en
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Central to this thesis is the question: how can differences between the public persona and the images of the practice of (popular) archaeology Austen Henry Layard (1817 - 1894), William Flinders Petrie (1853 - 1942), and Mortimer Wheeler (1890 - 1976) fashioned in their autobiographies, be explained? Firstly, public images of the practice of archaeology and of archaeologists in general during the period of ca. 1850 - 1950, and of Layard, Petrie, and Wheeler specifically, are key to this study. The second pillar is made up of how autobiography in general, and written autobiographies in particular, structure not only how we construct our own identity for ourselves, but also, especially in the case of a public figure, for a larger public. On a theoretical level, both pillars are tied together in a reciprocal relationship, the one continuously influencing the other and vice-versa. The following chapters not only show that anyone possesses a variety of ever-changing identities, but they also point out how the three examined archaeologists actively adapted the identity they showcased in their autobiographies to cater to the expectations of their audience.
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